Echo Nest, Play.me Offer Music App Developers Free Tunes
The Echo Nest, a “music intelligence” firm founded by MIT Media Lab alums, on Thursday announced a deal with Dada Entertainment’s Play.me service, which will allow music applications using Echo Nest’s technology to utilize Play.me’s music catalog and avoid having to secure separate licensing deals.
Even Digital Dipped at UMG Last Quarter. But Why?
Universal Music Group suffered a mild digital decline last quarter, though the takeaways were less-than-obvious. During the recent quarter, digital revenues slumped 1.7 percent, according to disclosures by parent company Vivendi. That is part of a broader, more serious revenue drop of 13.4 percent to 889 million euros ($1.1 billion). On constant currencies, the decline was 12.6 percent.
This Might Hurt a Little: Live Nation Losses Widen…
Live Nation Entertainment is a big merger with big ambitions, but the combination comes with costs. That, coupled with a continued erosion in concert attendance, widened losses during the latest quarter.
Still Wanna Buy EMI? Sony Says Yes. WMG Avoids the Question…
The on-again, off-again interest is starting to sound like a ‘bad romance’. But Sony Music may be rekindling its interest in EMI, according to comments coming out of Germany. “We are in a position that allows us to seize every opportunity in the market – including EMI,” Sony Music chief Rolf Schmidt-Holz told German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, in translated [...]
Bronfman: Apple Conversations “Not Happening Today”…
So, what do labels like Warner Music Group think about the prospects of a cloud-enabled iTunes? Early information suggests that label groups want more compensation for a system that would offer multiple access points. Warner could be a party to that demand, though WMG chief Edgar Bronfman, unexpectedly candid on Spotify last quarter, offered little on this one.
Cost-Cutting + More Digital = Less Losses at Warner Music…
Hardly a case of soaring financial excess, though Warner Music Group managed to narrow its quarterly losses and beat Wall Street expectations. And, in this market, that is probably as good as it gets.
ASCAP 2009 Royalty Collections Top $995 Million
Performing rights organization ASCAP said it collected over $995 million in royalties on behalf of its 380,000 songwriter and music publisher members in 2009, and paid out $863 million to members.
Terra Firma Seeking Investors’ OK on $159M More for EMI
Terra Firma, the private equity firm that owns major record label EMI, has secured “verbal commitments” from investors to cover a loan payment due to Citigroup, but needs the vote of 75% of its 200 investors in order to prevent a possible takeover by the lender who helped finance its acquisition of EMI, the Times Online reports.
Music Attorney Peter Lopez Dead After Suicide…
Talented music industry attorney Peter Lopez has now died, the result of a suicide. The death happened in Encino, CA on Friday, and quickly started circulating around the industry. Reasons behind the suicide remain completely unclear, though the Los Angeles coroner’s office subsequently confirmed self-inflicted gunshot wounds.